This invention relates to a medical device and more particularly to a suture including multiple tissue anchors.
The disclosed embodiments have application to a wide variety of surgical procedures including those that require high anchoring strength. For example, one such procedure is directed to female urinary incontinence and involves insertion of a suture to be fixed to bodily tissue under and/or lateral to the urethra to reconstitute the ligamentary support for the urethra. Generally, the suture is inserted into two or more body tissues to couple the body tissues tightly together without knotting the suture.
A known suture device includes an elongated body and a plurality of axially and circumferentially spaced barbs formed on the exterior surface of the elongated body. Such sutures may be placed within a body of a patient approximate bodily tissue. During insertion, a suture may be uni-directionally adjusted with respect to each bodily tissue. Said another way, the suture may be inserted into bodily tissue in a first direction but is inhibited or prevented from moving in a second direction opposite the first direction.
For example, in using such a known suture in closing a wound with such a suture, the suture is passed through tissue at each of the opposed sides of the wound. Suture pairs are formed in which trailing ends of sutures are positioned generally in alignment at opposite sides of the wound. On insertion of each suture, the suture is pushed to extend out of the tissue at a point laterally remote from the wound and the suture is moved to the desired position.
The width of such known sutures is reduced when producing such sutures because the barbs are formed by the suture. Thus, the width of a prong is limited by the width of the suture. The process of reducing the width of the suture also disadvantageously reduces its tensile strength. Such sutures must also be sufficiently rigid such that the barbs can prevent movement in the second direction. In some applications, however, it is desirable or necessary to have a suture having a flexible filament with a high tensile strength and a small filament width as well as multiple large barbs.
Thus, a need exists for a medical device (e.g., a suture) having a flexible filament with a high tensile strength and a small filament width as well as multiple large barbs.